‘You can never have too many handbags!’

Rusi Hancock was born in Tbilisi, Georgia (which used to be part of the USSR), married a British diplomat, studied art in Belgium and Israel and now manufactures the most exquisite and colorful leather bags in Thailand.

“I don’t think fashion has borders. Every woman in every country just likes nice things. With all my bags, it is the touch and feel. For me, it’s important how it feels because you don’t want to let it go when it feels nice,” believes Rusi.

To add to the international flavor of her works (and her life), Rusi’s bags are made of pure Italian leather and are sold all over the world. These bags — from bright canary yellow to fuchsia pink — have been featured in several international glossies like InStyle and Marie Claire.

But what distinguishes Rusi’s bags, aside from the leopard and wolf logos that define them, is style — from the quality of the leather, to the vibrant colors. Some of her customers buy each design in several colors.

“You can never have too many bags!” exclaims Rusi, affirming the success of her steadily booming venture. “My handbags are for ladies who don’t mind a famous brand not written here but they who also want quality (Rusi’s top-of-the-line bags average £500 each). I make such small numbers per design, they are different. Some big brands produce so many of them. My bags are for the cautious customers, for the different level of ladies who are educated and are confident. They know what they want, they want something different. They don’t want to walk in somewhere and walk in with the same bag as somebody else.”

Each bag is as unique and vibrant as Rusi, who has reddish highlights on her hair and a different color of polish on her fingernails and toenails.

“We do such small runs of each color, so when they get this color, their friend is not going to be able to copy it and buy the same thing, which is lovely. And again, these are single-minded people who know exactly what they want and not the same as everyone else,” she reiterates.

Rusi is thinking of selling her bags someday in the Philippines, but for now, they can only be purchased in Manila  through her good friend Claire Willats, wife of Dusit Thani general manager Alex Willats. Rusi and Claire met at school — their children’s school — when the Willats were also posted in Bangkok.

“We are thinking retail, definitely. Because at the moment, we can’t keep up with direct sales in this region,” Claire says.

“You don’t have a happy medium when it comes to bags in Bangkok,” says Rusi, who recently flew to Manila to explore retail possibilities. “You have very expensive bags, then you have cheap, nasty bags. I’m sure it’s the same here.”

***

Each of Rusi’s bags has either a leopard or wolf logo. Why such ferocious animals to symbolize her brand?

“Because I’m from Georgia! We are a strong people! And my bags are for women who are go-getters, who are not timid,” she explains.

When she arrived in Bangkok with her diplomat-husband, Rusi was mesmerized by the colors of the city — from orchids in varying shades of purple to the fuchsia pink taxicabs! Not to mention the yellows draped on the revered Buddha statues.

It was a colorful world and it inspired her to create accessories that would reflect these colors. On a walk down one of the bargain markets that Bangkok is known for, Rusi approached one leather goods vendor whose designs she liked but whose workmanship needed improvement. Despite the language barrier, she was able to enter into a business deal with him.

She helped the artisan upgrade the quality of his work and gave him the best Italian leather to work with. Soon, she had more than one artisan, and more. Rusi Designs was out of the bag in August 2012. Her first production consisted of 20 bags in seven colors.

Rusi was her own model, and at diplomatic events, she would stand out with her bags and accessories. Word of mouth was, and continues to be, Rusi’s most effective marketing tool. She now employs 15 artisans in Bangkok. This year, she is hitting 400 bags.

“There’s not a single woman who cannot find a Rusi bag she likes,” she smiles.

Great care is put into the making of each bag.

“It’s laser-cut leather. A hand-drawn design is transferred into a file that can do the laser. Each piece takes six months to do. Each piece takes two hours to cut. First, we cut it and it goes to the lasering place so this takes two hours just to cut it, so it will be perfect. Then it comes back and they do the insides,” Rusi describes the work that goes into one bag.

Rusi doesn’t do made-to-order.

“I don’t take orders, I make it because they trust it. I make it in that color because I know who likes that color. This is for you, this is what you’ll like. There are a lot of people who say, ‘Can you just do this?’ I will say, ‘no.’ If I don’t have a vision, I will not make it. I’m not a seamstress who takes orders. (My customers) trust me. They know that if they like my style, they’ll like what I do.”

Another distinctive mark of her bags is that the inside is as exquisite as the outside. Stitching is meticulous, no loose threads whatsoever. And the smell is absolutely divine, as if you’ve walked into a leather factory outlet in Milan.

“My brand is memorable,” says Rusi proudly. “For me, it’s important to have something memorable because how am I going to make my bag special? How many people are doing bags? People actually love something different. My bag is quite eye-catching and people like it. They just love it.”

(For inquiries, contact [email protected] or 0917-3868811.)